XP Deadline Extended FurtherXP Deadline Extended Further

Microsoft announced that PC manufacturers will be able to include Windows XP on low-cost desktop computers until 2010, the same deadline as previously announced for low-cost laptops.In a statement released at Computex, Microsoft said the extension applies to "Nettop" computers. "Nettop" is a term coined by Intel to refer to low-cost desktops with limited capabilities designed for Internet use, such as the upcoming Asus Eee Box, the desktop version of the popular Eee PC mini-laptop.

Microsoft did not specify exactly where a Nettops stop and true desktop PCs -- which are still due to lose the XP option at the end of this month -- pick up. Rob Young, a senior director with Microsoft's OEM group, said that his company and PC vendors are generally agreed over the definition of a Nettop and that Microsoft was unlikely to define specific hardware configurations.Computerworld